EE 201 Lab !

Lab 7

RC, RL, and RLC transients

This week, we look at simple RC and RL transients. Be sure to bring a ash drive for recording oscilloscope traces. In lab Your lab instructors will demonstrate: The use of the LCR meter to measure capacitors and inductors. The use of cursors on the oscilloscope to measure particular times and voltages. The use of math functions on the oscilloscope to nd the difference between two probe voltages. Sometime during lab, measure the values of the capacitors and inductors used in your circuits. Ideally, you would do this before building the circuits and carrying out the measurements. However, there is only one LCR meter, so everyone will have to take turns. RC transients Build the circuit shown in Fig 1. The source voltage is be a square wave from the function generator. (Dont forget to set the output to High Z.) Set the square-wave amplitude so that the square wave oscillates between 0 V and +10 V. (Set the high and low values directly. Or set the amplitude at 10 Vpp and introduce an offset of +5V.) Set the square-wave frequency to 500 Hz. A R 1 k! C 0.1 F B vc

Figure 1.

Vsquare

1. Observe the source voltage and capacitor voltage simultaneously on the oscilloscope. Adjust the time and voltage settings so that you can clearly see the exponential rising and falling transients of the capacitor. Record a clear trace of the rise and the fall for your report. 2. Use the oscilloscope cursors to measure the time constants of the rise and of the fall. To do this, measure the time needed to reach 6.32 V during the charging phase and 3.68 V during the discharge phase. (In your report, be sure to explain why this voltages correspond to one time constant.) 1

EE 201 Lab !

Lab 7

3. Use the math function (A-B) to display a trace of the resistor voltage. Of course, the resistor voltage is direct measure of the current in the circuit. Display the resistor waveform together with the source square wave. Record a clear trace for your report. Now build the circuit shown in Fig. 2. (You may need to use a combination of capacitors to obtain 0.3 F. If you are not sure of the value of whatever combination you have made, take your breadboard to the LCR meter and measure it.) Again, use a square wave as the source. Set the square wave to oscillate between 0 and 10 V and the frequency to 100 Hz. (If needed, you can adjust the frequency to help get a useful trace on the oscilloscope.) R1 1 k! R3 1 k! C 0.3 F vc

Figure 2.

Vsquare

R2 1 k!

1. Observe the source voltage and capacitor voltage simultaneously on the oscilloscope. Adjust the time and voltage settings so that you can clearly see the exponential transients of the capacitor. Record a clear trace. 2. Use the cursors to measure the time constants of the rise and of the fall. (Note that the voltage swing is smaller in this circuit, so you cant use 6.32 V to determine one time constant. Instead, choose a voltage that is in the middle of the swing, nd the corresponding time, and use the results in the the capacitor charging equation to calculate the time constant.) 3. Use the oscilloscope math function to observe the capacitor voltage together with the voltage across R3, which provides a direct measure of the capacitor current.

EE 201 Lab !

Lab 7

RL transients Build the circuit shown in Fig 3. using the 27 mH inductor from the lab. Use the same amplitude for the square-wave source, but set the frequency to 2000 Hz.

+
L

vL

Figure 3.

Vsquare

26 mH R 1 k!

+
vR ( = iLR)

1. Observe the source voltage and resistor voltage simultaneously on the oscilloscope. Of course, the resistor voltage is direct measure current in the circuit. Adjust the time and voltage settings so that you can clearly see the exponential transient of the resistor voltage (inductor current). Also, you can adjust the frequency of the source if that helps provide a more useful waveform. Record a clear trace for your report. 2. Use the cursors to measure the time constant of the rise and of the fall. 3. Use the math function (A-B) to display a trace of the inductor voltage. Display the inductor voltage waveform together with the resistor voltage. Record a clear trace for your report. Finally build the circuit shown in Fig. 4. Again, the source is a square wave with same amplitude used in the previous sections.

R1 1.5 k!

+ vR3 ( = iLR)
R3 1 k! L 26 mH vL

Figure 4.

Vsquare

R2 2.2 k!

1. Observe the inductor voltage and voltage across R3 (using the A - B math function) simultaneously on the oscilloscope. (The resistor voltage is a measure of the inductor current. Adjust the time and voltage settings so that you can clearly see the exponential inductor transients. Record a clear trace. 2. Use the cursors to measure the time constant of the rise and of the fall. 3

EE 201 Lab !

Lab 7

RLC transients Build the circuit shown in Fig 5. Note that R2 is a 1-k! potentiometer. Set the wiper somewhere to the middle of the range initially. The source is a square wave that ranges between 0 and 10 V with a frequency of 500 Hz. (Note that, if needed, you can change the frequency in order to get clear oscilloscope traces in the following measurements.)

R1

R2 1 k! pot L 47 nF 27 mH

Figure 5.

Vsquare

220 !

vc +
Observe the capacitor voltage and the source voltage together on the oscilloscope. Adjust the potentiometer up and down and note the change in the capacitor voltage waveform. In particular note the transition between over-damped and under-damped (oscillatory) responses. Adjust the potentiometer so that the response is clearly over-damped. Record an oscilloscope trace to include in your report. Measure the total resistance = R1 + R2. (This is probably most easily done by disconnecting the source and using the ohm-meter to measure the resistance.) Show that the values agree with the circuit being over-damped. Adjust the potentiometer so that the response is clearly under-damped. Record an oscilloscope trace to include in your report. From the trace, measure the frequency of the damped oscillation in the response. Measure the total resistance = R1 + R2. Show that the values agree with the circuit being under-damped. Reporting Prepare a report discussing your calculations and measurements from each part of this lab. Be sure to include calculated and measured values for the time constants. (Measured means from the oscilloscope trace not just from component values.) The report is due in one week at your lab time.